a strange kind of magic
by daughter-of-october
Summary: [Characters: Big Cast] # Summary: It was a known fact that the students of this school were crazy. # The marvellous Fairy Tail/Harry Potter crossover I announced yesterday on tumblr
1. Prologue

**_a strange kind of magic_**

**Characters**: Big Cast

**Summary**: It was a known fact that the students of this school were crazy.

* * *

**Author's Note**

* * *

_First things first. I would like the anon on tumblr and everyone else in the role play community who encouraged me to write this. It was an eventful afternoon, the day when flower crowns took over the world and when things were generally weird._

_It was the day when I did a Harry Potter/Fairy Tail crossover edit and from the asks I got afterwards, this story was born. If you have a roleplay account yourself, my url is icemagemom._

_I warn you. Characters may be – especially in the very first chapter – slightly OOC and the age differences have been changed as well so that a 23-years-old Laxus can still attend and so on._

_Also, due to the sorting, some characters have different cliques and different ways to interact._

_So if a friendship between Freed, Lyon and Lucy offends you, please leave now._

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

Hogwarts was a school of thousand possibilities, a school of magic.

As one of the oldest and one of the most notorious magical schools in the world, the school's graduates had the reputation of being prepared for everything life might throw at them later on. As far as unity between the four houses of the school went, things might have been better. The century old feud between Gryffindor and Syltherin was still going on but with more responsible prefects, things had calmed down and the last time that a spontaneous duel had happened had been a year ago.

Even the most optimistic and hopeful teacher had given up any hope that the both rivalling houses would ever end their feud – especially not now, not with the ongoing tournament.

Cana Alberona, prefect of the Syltherin house, threw her hair over her shoulder as she walked down the always changing hallways of the school. She was feared and admired by many as she was one of the most skilled mages of the school. Her purplish blue eyes were trained onto the fighting students at the other side of the hallway and narrowed as she blocked a stray spell. "Evergreen Raijin, Elfman Strauss," she snapped. "Would you please stop fighting now before a teacher comes to scold you … and to take points away from us, Evergreen."

The slightly older brunette snorted but pocketed her wand again. "II have no business around here anyway," she said haughtily as she rushed away, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she disappeared into another hallway.

"You, leave as well, Strauss," Cana said before she continued her way to her own lessons.

The both students that had been standing by the window to compare their notes, smiled thinly.

"A typical moment," Freed Justine said as he closed his book. "Very well, Vastia-san, we see each other in Astronomy today, don't we? Until then, we should both think about this spell."

"Don't tell me that you are still working on that spell!" Lucy Heartfilia sighed deeply as she walked downstairs with them. "Seriously, Milkovich-sensei has told you to stop doing this! Can't you just stop wanting everything this badly? You won't beat Fullbuster in the next exam, Lyon, if you keep wanting it too much. And neither will you be better than Levy-chan, Freed-san, because you want it too much as well. You are too tensed, you need to relax a little more!"

"True, Lucy-san, but you also have to remember that you want to beat Lockser-san quite desperately as well, don't you?"

_"Juvia-chan…"_

"No daydreams now, Lyon!"

* * *

Just as usual, the Gryffindor was loud and full of laughter as Erza Scarlet took her usual place by the end of the table. The head girl usually arrived earlier but after an incident in the potions class, she was happy that she had made it in time for lunch in first place. She tied her deep red hair into a ponytail and poured coffee into her cup before she lifted her gaze – just in time to see a familiar flash of white appearing in the doorway and making its way over to the empty place by her side, the place that had always been the one belonging to Mirajane Strauss.

"I am fucking done with Dreyar!" the white-haired girl hissed as she sat down at her place, nearly smashing the table into tiny pieces as she punched it.

"Keep it down, screaming won't solve anything, Mira," her red-haired friend sighed as she grabbed a piece of cake from a plate. "But what did he do this time?" she added.

"Needlessly showed off in class," Mira drawled as she grabbed a cup of pumpkin juice. "Well, that is his usual behaviour but seriously, who does he think he is, Erza? The chosen one?"

"Actually, yes, he is indeed the chosen one," the redhead called Erza shrugged. "But stop complaining so much. It's not like his is the head boy while you are the head girl, right?"

"Not that he is actually doing his job properly, Erza," the black-haired Gray Fullbuster threw in with a smirk as he sat down with the both girls. "You can be honest … it's mostly Fernandes who attends all the important meetings and helps you, right? That guy's too good for Slytherin."

Mira did not comment on the crimson hue that covered their friend's face for a moment. "Well, it's not like he's any good at being a prefect," she said after a moment. "I mean, did you ever see him doing his primary job? No, it's all Alberona who runs around and tries to keep everything in order," she said with an afterthought.

"Not that anyone could keep that rowdy bunch in line," Gray said with a shrug before he flinched as a cold hand touched his neck. "Ultear," he sighed.

"I seriously hope that you aren't talking about my house, little brother," Slytherin's resident ice queen said sweetly before she crossed the room over to her own table.

"Like a snake," Levy McGarden sighed as she sat down on her usual place next to Gray. "Did anything special happen today?" she asked as she ran a hand through her messy blue hair.

* * *

"You are late," Laxus Dreyar, head boy and resident 'chosen one', said as he crossed his arms. "What's your excuse this time, Redfox?"

The tall boy with the messy black hair rolled his eyes. "Ya ain't my dad, Dreyar," he said as he sat down next to his best friend. "And ya're staring at Fullbuster again, rainwoman."

Juvia Lockser was a doll like girl with long blue hair that fell down to her waist in messy blue waves. She was maybe the kindest and sweetest person at the table and at the beginning, people had wondered what she was doing in Slytherin has she would have also fitted into Gryffindor. Well, this had been before she had broken Natsu Dragneel's nose after he had decided to go too far with a prank against Gajeel. By now, everyone knew why she was in Slytherin. It was because she was downright ruthless if someone messed with her friends, her family.

Right now, she was obviously once more daydreaming but then, she shook herself out of her trance. "Juvia knows," she said as she rose and brushed back her hair. "But, do you know too, Gajeel-kun?" she asked before she disappeared in a crowd of students.

"What is she talking about?" Cana inquired as she lowered her potions script. Just as usual, she was studying last minute for the upcoming test. "Gajeel?"

He averted his gaze. "Not important," he said as he got up. "Well, there's Wendy. I talk to her."

Evergreen looked up from her own book. "He's hiding something," she said with a smirk.

"And he's such a bad, bad liar," Ultear agreed. "Shall I investigate?"

Laxus shook his head. "No," he said. "Juvia knows and she won't allow him to do anything that might endanger our team. Our seeker keeps our beater in line, after all."

* * *

"You just have to ask Romeo out, Wendy-chan!" Lisanna Strauss encouraged the girl of the second year. "Look, he is staring at you again! That's a good sign!"

"Bixlow-san is looking too, Lisanna-chan, is that a good sign as well?" the younger girl asked innocently as she looked at her older and more experienced friend.

"N-no!" the white-haired girl exclaimed.

"Are you messing with Wendy again, Strauss?" the threatening voice of Gajeel Redfox asked.

"She isn't," the blue-haired girl replied quickly. "By the way, you good a strange bruise…"

"That is no bruise," Natsu Dragneel, the master of cluelessness grinned. "Lucy calls it a hickey."

"Gajeel-nii has a girlfriend?" Wendy asked with wide eyes.

"I haven't – and when did you start believing what Salamander says?" the older boy snapped as he glared at the chuckling boy. "I came over since Bixlow was staring – again. He gives me the creeps. Well, since Strauss' brother will be here soon enough, I take my leave."

"W-wait a moment, Gajeel-nii!" Wendy called out as she got up for a moment to grab his arm. "I … mom wrote me a letter … with sweets and I wanted to give you a few of them. There you go."

For a moment, the beater stared at the handful of sweets his younger sister had forced onto him. It was common knowledge that he hated anything sweet but it was also widely known that his sister paid this dislike no heed as she always gave him a fair share of the sweets her mother sent her. Some wondered how Gajeel got rid of them as it was unlikely that he would actually eat them but for now, the miracle was unsolved.

The gruff boy took a step forward before he turned his head. "Wait a moment, salamander … Lucy Heartfilia talked about … hickeys? With you?" he asked, obviously doubting the words of the other boy. "Bunnygirl never talks about that stuff – not even with her fanboys," he added with a glare into the direction of Lyon Vastia and Fred Justine who stood by the door where they chatted with the head of their house, Ur Milkovich.


	2. in which quidditch is cancelled

**The chapter in which quidditch is cancelled**

* * *

"There are many things going on behind the scenes right now," Jellal said as he leaned against the wall during the prefect meeting. "I talked with the headmaster earlier today but he didn't say much about it. I guess it's all top secret yet … or do you know any details, Cana-san?"

The brunette raised her eyebrow. "Why would I know something you don't?" she asked.

"You and Dreyar junior are hanging out together the entire time neither of you has classes," Lucy Heartfilia, Ravenclaw's prefect, stated as she looked at her perfectly manicured fingernails. "And he would definitely know what's going on behind the scenes as he is the grandson of the headmaster. Also, he would tell you everything he knows. That's a fact, too."

"Even if I knew something, I would not tell you anything," Cana said with a thin smile, "because it would be a secret and I would keep a secret until the headmaster decides to tell all of us."

"Still, I wonder why the application of the quidditch teams did not happen yet," Ravenclaw's second prefect, Lyon Vastia, stated as he crossed his arms. "I looked quite forward to beating Gray's team this year and now, there are still many positions unfilled as many of the former members graduated last year. It's the same in Slytherin, isn't it?" he asked.

"We only need a new keeper," Jellal shrugged. "I did the job last year but, well, you all remember that I was a failure. I am a better chaser … but we got three excellent chasers."

"Quidditch won't happen this year."

Everyone's head turned to stare at Erza Scarlet, the current head girl, who had silently appeared in the doorway, the head boy Laxus Dreyar following closely behind.

"W-what do you mean, no … no quidditch?" Lisanna Strauss who was Hufflepuff's prefect and seeker asked as her eyes widened. "T-they can't do that."

Hufflepuff's quidditch team was – while certainly gifted with a higher amount of eccentric people than the other teams had – a very good team. But just like the other house teams, they had faced the problem that former players had graduated and thus left the team.

"They can," Laxus shrugged as he sat down. "Okay, Scarlet and I talked with gramps today about what's going on this year and so, yes, we can proudly confirm that the Triwizard Tournament is taking place in Hogwarts this year. That's why there will be no quidditch this year."

"Natsu will freak out," Lisanna groaned. "Well, anyone who volunteers telling him about this?"

"I can tell him," Lucy offered. "I am tutoring him in Transfiguration this afternoon … but you are telling Kagura-san, alright? She … she will not like this. At all."

"Leave my sister to me, Lucy-san," Simon, the older brother of the aforementioned chaser of Ravenclaw, said friendly. Many wondered how it was possible that the determinate and often strict girl could have such an easy-going, relaxed brother in Hufflepuff but while in earlier years the Sorting Hat had often but put members of the same family together, it had been shown that with a steadily increasing individuality, families had been ripped apart.

"Very well," Lyon said as he rested his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Well, now, that this meeting is over, we should return to the tower to pick up our books before classes begin."

One after another, the prefects bustled away with Cana and Laxus being the last ones before it was only Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes in the hidden common room for the prefects. The red-haired girl smiled thinly as she crossed her arms. "I wouldn't have guessed that you would actually attend a prefect meeting. Usually, you have Dreyar replacing you, right?"

He shrugged as he picked up a few documents the others had left behind. "Laxus, is a decent guy … just not the best head boy there is, you know? He'd be a better prefect but the teachers voted against that and made him head boy instead. Well, we shouldn't stay here for too long. I guess that you should head back to your peers and warn them about how there will be no quidditch."

"Take a picture of Redfox' wrath once he hears it," she said amused as she headed for the door. "Oh, and are you participating in the Triwizard Tournament, Jellal?"

"Unlikely," he said. "I guess that Laxus will and house loyalty, ya know? Why are you asking?"

"I would have cheered for you … for old time's sake," she said and disappeared.

* * *

Ur Milkovich, teacher for Charms, had had the worst day of her career. After the announcement that the house cup would not take place this year because of the tournament, she had spent half an hour discouraging the students of her house who wanted to protest against this. Now, half an hour after the curfew, she sat in the staff room and drank her last cup of tea as she waited for the other heads of houses to return from the trips to their respective houses.

"Has been a while since we saw you here, Ur," Gildarts Clive said as he poured coffee into three cups. "Let me guess … your house team wasn't happy about that Tournament thing either, yes?"

"Quite a few players of my house team are working on professional careers," she replied. "Kagura Mikazuchi, for example, had a test game for the Pride of Portree this summer. She has counted on the change to improve her skill this year."

"Elfman Strauss was utterly unhappy with the idea that he cannot play beater this year but I guess he was warned before dinner. His sister is prefect after all and Dreyar and Scarlet informed the prefects this morning in the meeting," Gildarts shrugged. "It is good that there was no violence yet … I guess that they accepted that complains won't help them at all."

"I think that it's kinda strange how you who was star player of your team can speak about quidditch like you don't care at all, Gildarts. I expected a little more compassion from you, to be honest," she scolded gently as she took a sip of her tea. "Back in the days, the headmaster had to drag you off the field because otherwise, you would have kept engaging silly competitions with-"

He raised his eyebrow. "I actually expected you to bring him up today," he said as he leaned back in his chair. "Strange, isn't it? He is our sworn enemy nowadays and yet, we mostly remember him as the clumsy boy who could hardly throw a quaffle correctly."

"He was not always evil," she said as she looked at her leg, the leg she had nearly lost in the war. "Sure, he was Slytherin and for you, he was the personified evil but … I could appreciate some of his spells – at least until he turned them against us."

"I am happy that you are not defending him anymore," he said softly. "That you gave up on any ideas that he might still be saved. He chose his path and we chose ours."

"Among all the people who went evil, he was the one who surprised me the most," she said as she stirred more sugar into her tea. "I mean, sure, we all knew that he liked the Dark Arts a little too much … but I wouldn't have guessed that he would go this far. I mean, he was head boy when I was head girl. I thought I knew him."

"We all thought that we knew that jerk," he shrugged. "Was the rumour true, anyway?"

"I never went out with him," she said as she shook her head. "Anyway, what do you think about his son? I worry sometimes because Laxus is a bright boy … and he might fall into his father's trap. Young men often desire power after all…"

"I'd personally say that he is unlikely to follow the temptation that is the dark side," he replied after a moment. "He is very focused on avenging his mother and his friend's mother after all."

* * *

"No quidditch, just that tournament?" Gajeel was visibly frustrated with the new turn of events. "I ain't saying that quidditch is the only reason why I'm still here but it's one of the important ones. Seriously, you couldn't make some deal with your grandfather? We had good chances on winning the House Cup again, this year…"

"Juvia thinks that we have to take what we can get," the blue-haired girl said as she rose from her chair that was – just as usual – the furthest away from the fireplace. She disliked the heat and thus avoided it whenever she could. "Anyway, Juvia is heading upstairs now."

"She's right, no matter how much it pains to admit this," Flare Corona who had replaced Jellal as chaser when he had been the keeper a year ago stated drily as she rose. "Complaining won't get us anywhere. I'd say that we should wait and see … and hope that we will get our share of glory."

The both girls disappeared within the next few seconds, leaving the remaining three boys alone with their thoughts. It was silent in the dungeon, only the fire gave a cracking sound every once in a while. The silence was quite unusual for them because usually, they would be discussing something – if only to fill the silence. This time, however, there was nothing to say.

"Laxus?" Jellal started after the silence had gotten too heavy. "Can I ask you a personal question? I really don't want to seem noisy or too curious but … what's the deal with you can Cana?"

The blond boy was silent for a moment before he looked up. "Our mothers who were both left by their respective husbands were neighbours and friends so I have known Cana for the longest time. During the raid…" he clenched his fists. "…Cana and I hid together underneath more protection charms than you can imagine. Our mothers … they died and afterwards, we ended up in a Muggle Orphanage. The people there … they were kind enough to overlook that we were different. We were there for a few months before grandfather got us out of there. We have been together for a very long time and I guess that I grew … used to her presence."

"A Muggle orphanage?" Gajeel asked, voice free of judgement. While he was as pure-blooded as you could get, he had never seen a valid point in the bigotry other pure-blooded mages preached. He had grown up in a Muggle village and had attended the same school as them until he had been accepted in Hogwarts and so he still had a few Muggle habits he would never outgrow.

"Is a Muggle orphanage very different from a magical one?" Jellal asked.

"Not really," Laxus shrugged before he got up. "Well, guys, I'm turning in now as well."


	3. in which maturity is questionable

**The chapter in which maturity is questionable**

* * *

By now, silence had fallen over the staff room and only the gentle sound of quills scratching over parchment resounded in the silence as the teachers corrected homework and other assignments.

"Isn't it hard for a mother to see her sons fight?" Gildarts asked suddenly.

Ur did not flinch as she was addressed like this, without an introduction but she was used to his ways. "It was obvious that Lyon would follow Ultear's lead instead of Gray's … and I knew that this would cause trouble sooner or later," she said with a shrug.

"It breaks your heart nonetheless that … that they act the way they do."

"Of course it does but I will stay neutral for as long as I can," she said. "I will support neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin in this current situation. I never did."

"Ravenclaw's unbiased view might save us all."

"What do you mean? Is there danger looming?"

"Hogwart's always in danger, you know that," he said. "No … it's just that … you-know-what," he smiled apologetic. "Gryffindor and Slytherin have always argued and … sometimes, it was difficult for them to set their rivalry aside when things went awry … It may be because Slytherin was his house and because Gryffindor is mine but … right now, it is hard for me to tell my students what it the right thing."

"Some Slytherins have friends in Gryffindor and the other way around," Ur replied. "I saw Levy McGarden talking with Gajeel Redfox a lot lately. What I mean is that there are many shades of grey between black and white … something you tend to forget, sadly."

"I know that not all Slytherins are selfish jerks … Fernades, for example, I'd love to have him."

"And I would love to have some of your students as well, Gildarts. Erza Scarlet, for instance, would make a fine Ravenclaw."

"Sure," he nodded. "But Heartfilia would make a decent Gryffindor … just as Dragneel."

"Tscha, as if Igneel's brat ever did anything heroic," the gruff voice of Metalicana Redfox resounded before the tall man appeared. He was Slytherin's head of house – but he was rarely seen there. Ur even doubted that her colleague had spoken with the students he was responsible for today. The man wore his usual combination of a bandana that kept his messy hair out his face, a muscle shirt and loose pants. (He was the reason why a few teachers tried to convince the headmaster that a dress code for the teachers would be quite useful.)

"Gryffindor isn't about pointless heroism," she stated, once more aware that he had come to pick a fight with either Gildarts or her. He had been two years ahead of them in school but they had clashed nonetheless as she had been Gildarts' and _his_ friend and those were people Metalicana had heavily disliked at the time. Too bad that he had been partially right in the end.

"Oh, stop defending lover boy's house, Milkovich," the rather wild man sighed. "It got boring."

"No one told you to come here and talk to us," she muttered under her breath.

Gildarts exhaled before he closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to calm himself down. "Why are you even here, Redfox?" he asked with a sigh.

"That's a pretty good question … probably 'cause I was bored."

Ur groaned. Metalicana was a genius when it came to potions but at the same time, he had the maturity of a three-year-old at times. He had been an infamous student when she had started to attend Hogwarts and she sometimes wondered why the boy who had once tried to raise a dragon under his bed had been asked to become a teacher.

"If I'm interrupting something, Milkovich, just say so, yes? I would hate to intrude on something meaningful between you and lover boy," the gruff man said with a dazzling smile.

Gildarts was about to say something rather harsh as the school's poltergeist started to scream.

"I go and shut him up once for all," Metalicana snapped. "Makarov's too nice to him."

Ur's wand was pout before Gildarts had even blinked and with the composure of a woman who was a master duellist, she spoke. "If I was you, I would not do this," she stated. "He is a nuisance – no one could ever deny this because everyone suffers under him – but there is a reason why the headmaster allows him to stay … for now."

"Also, there is no permission to ban him from the castle yet, Redfox," Gildarts added. "We should rather check why he is so loud. Usually, he is silent at night … I guess he learned."

She pocketed her wand again as she rose and so the three house heads followed the noise.

"I swear, if this is unimportant…" Metalicana cursed under his breath.

"We know," Gildarts sighed as he, just as Ur, had dealt with the other man for years.

They hurried through the ever changing hallway, silent as the wind to avoid waking the portraits and finally, they got to the source of the noise – only to see how an overly annoyed Jellal Fernandes casted a silence spell at the poltergeist who was drifting above their heads, broadcasting a rather heated discussion between Cana Alberona and Gajeel Redfox.

"Slytherins caught out of bed and out of their common room after the curfew?" Ur asked, disbelief obvious in her voice. This was easily explained as most members of the house usually sneaked around far better than this and were rarely caught by the teachers.

"Ten points for Slytherin, Fernandes," Metalicana said brightly as he looked at his student.

Ur shook her head. "Why are you out of bed?" she asked instead. Usually, she would catch Hufflepuffs like Natsu Dragneel and whoever the boy had roped into his plans after the curfew but this variations of students was an interesting surprise.

The three students exchanged a quick glance before Gajeel spoke, looking at his father. "You know, it was like that, pops," he started. "I was just about to go to bed when we heard Flare scream, no, she seriously screamed. We thought that the criminal that escaped last year might have broken into the dorm or that something else happened so we ran into the girl's dorm."

"Which earned him a nasty little curse from Juvia, by the way," Cana threw in.

"Anyway, it turned out that there was no criminal," Jellal went on as he crossed his arms. "It seems, however, like someone cursed Cana's blanket because it tried to strangle her. Um, we used a few spells to free her … then Laxus turned up and burned the thing."

"And now, we are escorting Cana over to the sickbay because she got some nasty bruises and cuts from where spells hit her," Gajeel ended with a shrug. "Plus, I need someone to look after my eye. I really wonder what spell rainwoman used this time."

"And Jellal?" Ur asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Alberona and Redfox are excused."

The blue-haired boy sighed before he rolled up his sleeves to reveal a deep cut on his forearm. "Flare," he sighed. "When we first entered, she got me with a curse."

"Nothing too bad, I hope," she said as she remembered the skill the red-haired girl had.

"It was something minor," he said. "I just want Porlyusica to look after this before I lose my ears or before something equally unfortunate can happen to me," he said with a grin.

"Alright, alright," Gildarts said. "In that case, go ahead … but that blanket…"

"Dreyar thinks that Dragneel pulled that prank and got someone to sneak it into 'Rona's bed," Gajeel said with a sigh. "We, aah, are not on the greatest terms with him lately to be honest. 'Rona took points from him once, Dreyar messed with his head a lot lately, Fernandes teased him about Heartfilia a little and generally, we haven't been all nice to him lately."

"Only that Natsu would never be dumb enough to play around with curses he cannot control," Cana said calmly. She was not Natsu Dragneel's biggest fan as he had often done things she had disliked but if this had been truly an attempt to kill someone – which she did not want – she knew that Natsu would be the last one to be behind the cursed blanket.

"Igneel's brat may be a fool but he's straightforward," Metalicana shrugged. "If it had been him to try killing Alberona, a statue would have fallen onto her head – that's for sure. This sneaky stuff is not his modus operati so you can forget it. He didn't try to kill her."

"What surprises me, however," Gildarts started as he frowned slightly, "that Laxus Dreyar instantly blamed the attack on Natsu Dragneel … nearly as if he has something to hide."

Ur smiled thinly as she watched how anger started to burn in Cana's eyes. Neither Ravenclaw's wisdom nor occlumency were the reasons why she knew what Cana was thinking – and if the charm expert was completely honest with herself, she could understand this anger. But she had to prevent yet another feud between Slytherin and Gryffindor (and Metalicana might not care much for his house but he did care when Gildarts messed with them).

So she placed a hand on Gildarts' arm and gently pushed him back. "This is enough, Gildarts," she scolded. "Don't take out the hatred you feel for the father on the son's shoulders. That's plain unfriendly and not wise."

Cana's purplish blue eyes were still burning with anger but there was suddenly a hand on her shoulder and Ur looked right at Laxus Dreyar. She no longer worried when he was around. He had proven himself to be a rather talented leader and the fact that he was nothing like his father had calmed her down considerably along the seven years she had been his teacher.

"What's your excuse, Dreyar?" Gildarts groaned as he looked from the brunette to the newcomer.

"I need to talk with my grandfather … that curse was a nasty one and I want answers … now."

Now, Ur groaned without even bothering to keep her frustration covered. Gildarts and Metalicana were already difficult to deal with but Gildarts and Laxus … that was a mixture that would explode within the next few seconds and she had no idea how to stop it this time.

Lucky for her, it seemed like Jellal Fernades was equally uninterested in another argument and pushed Cana down the hallway. "Laxus," he said calmly. "Talk tomorrow with the headmaster. He … he is probably not even here tonight. You know that he is busy. He often is."

The blond boy sneered before he nodded at his friend. "Let's go," he said. "And, uh, Professor Clive? It is kinda hard to respect a man who failed at protecting his own wife, just saying.

Metalicana raised his hand and sighed deeply. "We are all tired, Laxus and Clive," he said slowly, proving that he indeed knew the other man's name. "We say things we do not mean. We do things we really shouldn't do. Clive, hands off your wand. Dreyar, be happy that you are in my house because otherwise, I would have let him kill you. Anyway, good night. I hope you did your homework, Gajeel," he added before he once more disappeared within the shadows.

"Just hurry up, get your wounds healed and get to bed right afterwards," Ur said tiredly. "Gildarts, stop glaring holes into Laxus. You have classes early in the morning as well."


	4. in which important things are unsaid

**The chapter in which the important things are left unsaid**

* * *

Gajeel Redfox's day had started rather pleasant. He had awoken as the first one of his room, ran his usual round over the ground, gotten warm water in the shower before he had hit the Great Hall for a breakfast made for a king. Afterwards, he had finished the last bit of homework – that stupid Charm essay for Professor Milkovich was truly pointless but his father would kill him for failing that class – before he grabbed a book and an empty scroll from his bag and started working. He was – even though his outer appearance and his general rudeness suggested something else – a rather dedicated student who had unconventional ideas at times.

The Great Hall was empty this early in the morning and so he only spotted the regulars. Levy McGarden was over at the Gryffindor table, merrily chatting with her friends from Ravenclaw who had taken place at the wrong table for a moment. He chuckled as he looked back at the book he was reading. The earliest hours of the morning were usually the calmest ones because the usual suspects to stir up trouble (Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster) were still sleeping soundly.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Kagura Mikazuchi was glaring at her cup of tea before she rose and waved at her brother and her best friend at the Hufflepuff table before she left the Great Hall, most likely to fly a little before the classes would start.

"Morning," Jellal greeted as he sat down on the bench. "Was Laxus already here? He was gone by the time I woke up so I thought he would be here…"

Gajeel shrugged. "I ain't his babysitter – that's 'Rona's job," he replied. "Talking of her, they kept her in the hospital wing overnight, didn't they? That means, he is probably up there. Any trouble so far?" he added with an afterthought.

"Uh, not really but I have news: we are currently the only neutral house in this school," the blue-haired prefect shrugged. "Hufflepuff went at war with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw supports their yellow friends. I guess this mostly reads as Lisanna Strauss getting Lyon Vastia and Lucy Heartfilia to join forces … and as Vastia wanting to see Fullbuster bleeding."

_"Cute,"_ Gajeel said as he rolled his eyes. "Dragneel is in for a bad surprise, anyway."

"You are not suggesting that we start an alliance with Gryffindor, are you?"

"No way in hell, no," the black-haired man said. "Hufflepuff would be my choice because, well, that's where Wendy is. But we should rather stay out of this entirely. It won't end well anyway."

"What a good older brother you are sometimes…"

"Wendy is a good kid, alright?"

"She surely feels the love, Gajeel-kun," Juvia teased as she patted her old friend's shoulder as she sat down. "Aww, potions lessons with Gryffindor as the first thing today…"

"Spare us the declaration of how great Fullbuster is, Juvia," Gajeel said as he rested his forehead onto the table. "We really don't have to hear that all the time."

* * *

Erza Scarlet was on the warpath and everyone who saw her in time, tried to avoid her somehow – by hiding behind armours or hurried into the next classroom – and everyone pitied the person who had made her this mad. There was one student who was entirely unafraid of her anger.

Jellal Fernandes.

(Or maybe, he was just plain suicidal.)

Slytherin's prefect heroically intercepted the head girl and looked at her with a grin. "Who stole your cake this time around, Erza?" he inquired.

She simply glared. "Did you see Dreyar?" she asked. "He's slacking off – again."

He raised his eyebrow. "Laxus is excused right now," he said after a moment. "Also, I don't think that he would be useful to you at the moment, Erza. He's pretty … distracted lately."

"It's still my place to judge whether he can do his job or not," she said, visibly annoyed. "I have no problem with you or Alberona, Jellal. But Dreyar's attitude annoys me a lot. Do you know that he once left a meeting early just to get to the birthday party Redfox had organised for her?"

"Well, to be honest, I ditched the prefect meeting to hang out in Hogsmade with you," he said. "Look, we asked him. She is his only real family – just like you are my only family."

"You have Ultear and Meredy, too," she said, crossing her arms and frowning. "But I guess that the basic is the same: they have been together for a very long time."

"Since they were children, their mothers were friends and so they always stayed together," he said. "You may remember that Laxus' mother was killed … by his own father … to protect him. And both he and Cana saw this … they sat there and could do _nothing_."

The red-haired girl sighed deeply before she tied her hair back. "I know what that's like," she said quietly as she absentmindedly patted his shoulder. "We both know, right? Grandpa Rob…"

He sighed deeply. "He will be fine. The healers will get him back on track one day. We just have to keep believing in him … and we need to keep going, keep living with all our might," he said.

"And we need to keep paying attention in Potions Class," she nodded. "See you there, Jellal."

"By the way, what do your housemates think about your friendship with a lowly Slytherin?"

She rolled her hazel eyes as she turned around. "Gray's sister is in Slytherin," she said with a shrug. "And I have my suspicions about Levy and Redfox so I guess that we are all fraternising with the enemy … it might be a new tradition."

He watched her leave and sighed deeply. They had been a team for the longest time, ever since their old village had been attacked. Their parents had been aurors and had been killed by Death Eaters while Grandpa Rob from the store at the corner had grabbed them and they had ran – only to run into a gang of death eaters who had tortured the old man to the point of insanity. He was in hospital and they visited him whenever they had the time for a trip to London.

It was strange how many students in Slytherin had lost family to Death Eater attacks. Cana and Laxus had lost their mothers. Flare's sister had been killed and the girl had been tortured. But there were also the children who came from families who had a dark past. For this reason, the house was rather divided. Cana and Flare had once picked a fight in the common room with someone who had defended the death eaters' actions. In the end, no one had really felt better but somehow, this had showed that even Slytherins did care about their peers, about their image and that no matter how ruthless they were, they all had their breaking points. Cana and Flare had reached theirs that day.

Jellal shook his head as he looked after Erza for a moment before he turned his head to nod at Gajeel who had once more appeared out of thin air which was normal for him lately.

"Charms?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Charms," Jellal confirmed.


	5. in which old friendships are tested

**The chapter in which old friendships are tested**

* * *

Gildarts Clive was fuming the entire day and everyone who could tried hard to avoid him as it was possible. His Slytherin students could not and were hit with the full force of the teacher's wrath as he rambled on and on during his lessons, deducted points and stormed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rung to declare the end of a lesson.

He knew that Metalicana Redfox would rather eat his own wand than to watch how someone attacked his students and this was theoretically an improvement for the sometimes rather uncaring man. But this made the comment of Laxus Dreyar not better at all – or less hurtful. He wondered how the annoying brat had found out the thing about Cornelia in first place before he realised that this was probably an open secret in the entire school.

"You took eighteen points from Flare Corona because she wrote notes with Heartfilia in class?"

He groaned. "Ur, after yesterday night, I am surprised that you dare to show up here," he muttered as he kept working on his files. "I thought that you are with Redfox in this."

She sighed deeply. "I wanted to talk with you about yesterday's events," she said. "I know that Laxus was out of line in what he said … but …you are doing the wrong thing right now as well. I agree with you when you say that he has to be punished for what he said but…"

"Cornelia…" he said. "He was right … that shouldn't have happened."

"She was supposed to be safe with Cosima," Ur said in a weak attempt to cheer him up a little bit. "I know that you feel guilty and well, so do I but … we are only wizards, no gods. We have limits and … we tried to get back as soon as possible. We … we didn't mean to take this long."

"Four years … we worked on that thing for four years and it was all for naught," he muttered darkly. "I know that Makarov told us that we might regret the decision but…"

"It was no real decision," she said. "It was something we had to do … a duty."

"A duty, a duty, a duty!" he snapped. "Do you ever listen to yourself when you talk? You keep saying that it was our duty but no, it wasn't. We did not know. We didn't know that we would be fighting someone we used to trust a long time ago. We knew nothing, Milkovich, _nothing_!"

"But we did know that it was war, didn't we? We knew that it was real life where the good people stay dead when they are killed and that things would be very, very sad," she replied, unfazed by his anger as she sat down on the windowsill. "War is a terrible thing, we both knew that. War and death are similar – they are both unfair. It was not fair that Cornelia and Cosima had to die. You may remember why I loved my husband this much … because he understood."

The man at the desk growled. "I understand as well," he stated sadly. "Duty was always your big thing, the thing you would have done everything for – the reason why you left behind your husband and your daughter to hunt down traitors. Duty was more important than anything else for you – more important than your life, mine or anyone else's."

"This is something you have accused me of for a long time and I won't deny it today either. Duty and sacrifice … they have a _meaning_," she said it as she looked at him with her sad eyes, eyes that had shed so many tears. He knew her too long to believe that she was a hero. Ur Milkovich was a woman who was making up for her earlier mistakes, who paid for her former sins.

The pain inside his chest burned a little brighter for a moment before it subsided. It was the pain that had begun the day he had heard of Cornelia's death, of the death he had not prevented. He understood why Cornelia had chosen her path, a path that was just too similar to his own: there were things worth to die for.

"Pain, death and sacrifice…" he repeated. "Why is it always you to remind me of those things?"

"Probably, because you wouldn't listen to anyone else," she said with a smile as she got up. "I do not regret anything. I don't regret the way we nearly died or the way our mission failed. The only thing I regret is … is that others suffered under our decision."

He looked at her before he took her hand. It was strange how fragile she looked. Back then, he had often wondered how easy it would be for him to crush her with one hand. But she was an expert for curses and while he taught Defence against Dark Arts, he knew that she would have done the job at least as good as he did it. They had been friends for the longest time even though they had started out as rivals because while he had been the keeper, she had been a chaser. Ur's knuckles were pale from the force she had used to hold herself back from cursing the hell out of him earlier. He smiled thinly as he let go of her hand.

"I apologise for causing you another headache," he said quietly as he took a step back.

It was rather difficult to define the relationship they had. During their own time at the school, they had been simply best friend but as Metalicana claimed whenever he was out to stir up trouble: best friends did not barge into each other's rooms in the middle of the night to talk about curses, potions and other magic related topics. This was what Gildarts regretted: Ur had distanced herself lately. In earlier years, she had sometimes asked him to escort her on her trips into muggle towns but by now, six years had passed without such an invitation and this was starting to worry him slightly. Ur was not one to keep secrets but right now, she kept one.

"Believe me, that's nothing compared to the last time around," she said with a weak grin, referring to the time he had turned up at her place in the middle of night, losing more blood than a human being was supposed to lose and refusing to be brought to the hospital.

"I seriously bring you nothing but headache, do I?" he sighed as he lowered his head. "I can only apologise for being such a bad friend, Ur. I really hoped that I might be a better friend now."

She snorted as she waved her wand to summon food from the kitchens. "Headache or not, you are still my best friend," she said as she stepped over to the window behind his desk. "Actually, you are the last friend I got left. I would appreciate if you wouldn't get in anymore trouble."

"If I promise to be a good boy, will you tell me what's up with you lately?" he asked calmly.

She shook her head. "I cannot tell you," she said. "That's the point. It is not my secret to share. I am merely someone who has to keep silent about something. Makarov made me promise, you see, and I would never break an important promise."

He sighed deeply as he stepped beside her. "You're a damn good witch, Ur, one of the best I know," he said. "But … you know me, right? You know that I am not exactly nice when I fear that someone is toying around with me. That isn't supposed to be a threat or anything, though."

"Believe me, I have no heightened interest in keeping this secret," she replied calmly.

"Good," he sighed. "I really would hate if we would stand on opposing sides once as well."

She merely nodded before her eyes narrowed. "Gildarts, there seems to be trouble," she said as she mentioned towards rays of red light that were easily visible in the darkness of the night. "i guess that one of the conflicts finally escalated down there."

He groaned. "Are we seriously on duty again?" he groaned. "We caught those Slytherin's yesterday … by the way, did Alberona turn up in Charms today? She missed DADA…"

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him along. "First answer, we weren't officially on duty yesterday," she said. "Yesterday night, we were simply there because we weren't sleeping yet and heard the noise. Igneel and Grandine were on duty yesterday night but I guess that they were too busy fighting over that script to hear anything the ghost screamed. And according to Corona, Cana is still in the hospital wing. It seems like the curse was a nastier one."

* * *

On the grounds, the long overdue fight between the quidditch teams of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor was taking place. The previous year, Hufflepuff had won against Gryffindor which had gained Slytherin the house cup and while the players of Gryffindor were not dumb enough to challenge the Slytherins who were usually rather good at dark magic, they had challenged the Hufflepuffs or rather said: Gray Fullbuster had challenged Natsu Dragneel.

The both boys had a long shared past – a past of fights and arguments – that had begun the fateful day they had first met in the train when Natsu had made the mistake of implying that Gray's mother was a weakling which had been the start of a rivalry.

As Gildarts and Ur hurried towards the fighting students, fully intending to deal out major punishment in from of deduction of points and detention, Lisanna Strauss who may be a prefect but had still been somehow involved into the argument blocked three stunning curses at once.

Under different circumstances, Gildarts would have congratulated her to such a feat and given her points but not when the three curses hit Ur straight into the chest and sent her to the ground. Ironically, it had been Gray Fullbuster who had originally casted the spells and the boy was Ur's adopted son. Therefore, Gildarts groaned as he knew that things would heat up soon.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said as he supported the unconscious Charms teacher with one arm. "Would you mind to explain me what this is supposed to be, Lisanna, Mirajane?"

The sisters, both prefects of their respective houses, blushed crimson.

"Let's see, let's see … unauthorised duels, injuring a teacher … uuh, that doesn't look good for the bunch of you," he went on. "Gryffindors, mind explaining me why you did something like that? Slytherin is already leading in terms of the House Cup, aren't you aware of that? We lost last year to them … to be honest, if I have to look at Redfox' grin another time, I will stun myself."

"I am sorry, Professor Clive," Mira apologised as she nervously toyed with her wand. "It's just … if Bacchus hadn't injured Elfman last year, we might have won the match and the cup."

"And instead of accepting the defeat, you decided that it would be smart to take revenge?"

"Y-yes…"

"Mira, you are a smart girl," he sighed. "You could have been head girl … and now, you take part in a fight … a fight that left Professor Milkovich unconscious."

"Aww, lover boy's getting worried."

This time, Metalicana had gone too far. It had been bad enough when he had kept calling Gildarts by that name when it had been just them. In front of students, however, this had an entirely different effect – especially since quite a few gossip experts among them.

"Redfox, get her to the hospital wing. I will stop by once I cleared up this situation."

The black-haired man rolled his eyes before he picked up the Charms expert. "The things I do for you, Clive," he muttered. "Just hurry up, will you? I seriously don't want to face her wrath again."

Gildarts sent him a glare before he turned back at his students. "Every one of you loses five points for his or her respective house and you will all have detention," he said darkly. "I guess that Gray and Lisanna will have fun apologising to Professor Milkovich and helping her clean her office," he added with a sickly sweet smile.

"Professor Clive," Bacchus Orland smiled and this had never been a good sign. "Or should I say … Lover Boy? Is there something between you and Professor Milkovich we should be aware of?"

"You are talking about my mother, Orland!" Gray screamed. "Seriously, that's disgusting!"

"So, Fullbuster, does that mean that there is something?" the other boy drawled amused.

"Orland and Fullbuster, I am losing my patience," Gildarts said. "And as to answer your question, Orland, no, there is nothing between Professor Milkovich and me. We are merely good friends."

* * *

Cana Alberona had had better days and as for right now, she had many things she would rather do than to lay in a hospital bed, waiting for her discharge. Little did she know, her day was about to get far worse. She tensed up as steps hurried down the hallway and turned her head into the direction of her best friend as she recognised Professor Redfox' voice.

"Oi, Porlyusica!" he called out. "I brought an injured teacher. That's important, ya know?"

"Who is it this time?" the medical adviser asked as she stepped out of her office.

"Milkovich – 'cause who but Clive would request that she would be taken here? She looks like she took a curse or two, nothing too extreme."

Laxus shook his head as Cana's lower lip started to quiver. _"Don't,"_ he said softly. While he did not care much about his father as Ivan Dreyar was a traitor, he knew that Cana did care about her father – a lot, actually – and he could imagine what this conversation was putting her through. If Gildarts Clive was not the teacher, Laxus would have long punched him but for now, he kept himself telling that he would not punch a teacher – unless he would make Cana cry.

She stayed silent and closed her eyes before she focused on breathing properly.

Fast steps and the familiar rustling of cloaks announced the arrival of Gildarts Clive and this was the moment when the day went from worse to even more terrible. Laxus and Cana were trapped behind the curtain and while they saw nothing, they still heard everything.

"Three stunning curses," Gildarts said darkly. "Lisanna Strauss blocked them and they hit her straight into the chest. She had no chance to block them. It happened too fast."

"I think it's rather strange that it is always you and her who find the interesting things," Professor Redfox said slowly but the smirk was audible in his voice.

"Is there something you are trying to imply, Metalicana?" Gildarts snapped.

"Indeed, yes," the potions master said, obviously rather amused. "Fifteen years ago or so, Makarov sent the two of you on that mission. You came back to find Cornelia and Cosima dead while her husband made it for another two weeks or so. Yesterday night, I was with you while you found the students and tonight, it is you who run into the fighting students. The first time is excused as you were ordered. The second and the third time isn't, however."

"She came to apologise," Gildarts said. "We had a disagreement yesterday and you know her … she never leaves a fight unresolved. We argued about what happened back then … too."

Laxus' eyes narrowed as he spotted a tear on Cana's cheek. The single tear hurt him more than any spells he had been hit with so far. Before their mothers had gone out to fight a battle they had never been meant to win, they had told him that he had to protect Cana because he was the older one. In his book, seeing her cry meant that he had failed and while he was bad with words, he wanted to find the right ones so that he could tell her that he would make things okay again.

"I still think that you never did the right thing, Clive," Professor Redfox snapped. "We all failed, I know that. I could have been there in time to save Cornelia and Cosima if it hadn't been for that other attack. But seriously, the game you play is fair on no one – not for Cornelia and especially not for Ur. She has been keeping an eye on your back for years."

"Even at the risk of repeating what I said thousand times in former years: while I hold Ur close to my heart, she will never be my heart. Cornelia will always matter more."

"Cornelia is dead," the medical adviser growled. "She is dead and no matter how much you try to deny this, you are hurting a lot of people with your behaviour. You hurt Milkovich, you hurt Redfox … you hurt everyone who actually has the nerve to care about you."

"Laxus…" Cana whispered, pain once more evident in her eyes and he hated himself because there was nothing he could do to help her.

"I am sorry," he said even though the apology was hardly worth her time because she deserved better than that, because she did not deserve to cry because of the loser who was her father.

"We are not saying that you should go and sweep her of her feet, lover boy, but … you are allowed to be happy, too," Professor Redfox said and gained himself a place on the list of people Laxus would love to punch for making Cana sad. "Damn, we are all allowed to be happy. That war took so much from each of us. Grandine left me for _Igneel_ of all people."

"Professor Dragneel is an amazing wizard," Gildarts said nonchalantly.

"True, yeah," the other man said. "The point is: we all lost something in the war. You lost Cornelia and I am sure that her loss was terrible. But, seriously, you and Milkovich make me sick with all the cuteness radiating from you. You are worse than Alberona and Dreyar and they are already pretty disgusting with their over-protectiveness."

"I am still surprised how his son ever got himself a girlfriend," Gildarts said and for a moment, Laxus was worried that Cana might jump out of her bed to punch her father who had no idea that he was her father. He quickly shook his head once more.

"Anyway," Porlyusica interrupted. "_Enervate_."

For a moment, silence reigned before Professor Milkovich started to cough.

"Not so hasty, Ur," the medical adviser snapped. "You are always rushing through everything."

"Sorry, Porlyusica," the woman apologised. "So, uh, what happened?"

"The great expert for defence against the dark arts was knocked out," Professor Redfox laughed. "Seriously, this was the first time since the big duel that someone got you, right?"

"I would rather not comment," she replied. "Anyway, can we leave now?"

"Not yet."

And this was when Cana realised that Laxus had gotten up and pulled the curtain aside.


	6. in which lies and truths are revealed

**The Chapter in which lies and truths are revealed**

* * *

The first few seconds after Laxus' outburst were the longest in Cana's life. She was staring at her best friend, at the person who had just revealed the secret that had started to tear her apart. The both other professors, Milkovich and Redfox, had fallen silent and their eyes rested on their friend while the medical adviser was back in her office, obviously wanting to pay no attention to the argument that would take place as soon as everyone would regain their ability to speak.

"Alberona – is that true?" Professor Clive asked, his voice nearly breaking.

But before the girl could say something, her head of house spoke and no matter how much Metalicana Redfox ignored his duty – he was there when someone of his house needed his help and right now, he felt like he had to say something. "Could you stop being a dumbass for once, Gildarts?" he snarled. "Of course it's true – open your eyes and switch on your brain and you will get it too. Dear Mavis, I hope that I won't catch your stupidity."

For Cana, this was the nicest speech the professor had ever held and Laxus believed the same.

"If he knew, you knew it as well," Gildarts said, not even bothering to turn his head. "You _knew_."

Ur was silent for the longest time then she sighed. "Yes," she admitted. "I knew and said nothing – because it was not my place to say anything … and neither was it Laxus' but I guess I can understand why he did this. However, don't you _dare_ to blame me for this."

"Kiddo, better take a step back," Metalicana warned as he pushed Laxus back. "I haven't seen them arguing in a long time but … that's a sight I never forgot."

"You lied to me."

"I told you that I was keeping a secret that was not mine – I think you even said that you weren't interested," the raven-haired woman replied with a sigh. "I am not interested in arguing with you, Gildarts. And this is also not the right time to discuss this – there are other issues at hand."

"I won't forget about that, Feather-Brain," he stated, severely disappointed with her. He could deal with Metalicana withholding important information but he had never expected Ur of all people to do the same because she had had his back for so many years and in so many fights, she had been the reason why he had survived. She had never been supposed to betray him.

"I guess that I can accept that," she replied, leaning against the headboard while her hand was wrapped firmly around her wand and somehow, she managed to smile even though she felt like throwing a fit. But this was something she could not do now. She could not grab him and throttle him until he would see reason even though it itched in her fingers.

"So, um, I have a daughter," Gildarts said slowly, staring at the girl.

"Y-yes," Cana replied, biting her lip and staring at Laxus like he had the solution on how to make this a little less awkward. "Um … hello, father?"

"I am out of here," Metalicana declared, looking at Ur. "Shall I escort ya to your room?"

The Charms teacher rose, a little woobly on her legs but as she stood, she nodded. "That would be very nice, Metalicana," she said as she rested a part of her weight against him before they left.

"Do you want me to leave, Cana?" Laxus asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked back and for a moment, a mischievous fire burned in her blue eyes. "You started this mess and so you will stay here and see this to the end. Am I understood?"

He rolled his eyes but sat back down at her side, allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder. "You are always so bossy," he complained but a fond smile graced his lips.

Gildarts felt a little uncomfortable. He was rather new to this entire thing about being a father but even though he had only known that the girl was his daughter for a few minutes (and most of the time he had been arguing with Ur), he was pretty sure that it was his fatherly duty to discourage any attempts his daughter made at dating a so-called 'bad boy' until she was forty-something. At the same time, however, he was rather sure that neither Cana nor Ur (when had she started to become this important, anyway?) would be happy about this.

"So, uh, Cornelia had a daughter," he started after a moment in which he had desperately tried to structure his thoughts. "That's a, well, surprise for me – but a pleasant one."

Cana's hand was loosely holding onto Laxus' but the gesture seemed to be unconscious, a reminder of the long time they had always been together, first because their mother's had been friends, then because of the orphanage and then, in Slytherin. "You really didn't know?"

"We discussed that, Cana," Laxus said before Gildarts had the chance to say something. "Aunt Cornelia never took the risk of owling him any news – both for his and her own security."

"He is right there," the teacher said slowly. "Look, Cana, I guess that I have pretty bad marks in your book … but I really, really loved your mother … and if you let me be your father…"

"If you loved my mother – then why did you leave for that mission with … that woman instead of staying with her … and protecting her?" Cana asked, bitterness obvious in her voice.

"Aah, I guess you took Metalicana a little too serious a while back," Gildarts said as he rubbed his neck. "Ur is my friend, my _best_ friend. And Metalicana knows that better than anyone else. He started calling me by … _that name_ many years ago when we were both drunk and Ur came and brought us home – that was before he went to study the dragons. Also … Ur carries a heavy enough burden without me adding to it."

* * *

"…you know that he will deny everything, right?"

"I would be disappointed in him if he didn't, Layla."

The blond woman sighed deeply as she sat down at the desk after pushing a stack of books and parchment to the side. "You are such a martyr, Ur," she sighed. "And I would call you the dumbest person I've ever met if you weren't a Ravenclaw to the boot."

"I feel the love, seriously," the raven-haired woman sighed as she rested her head onto the pillow. "But that's the problem … most people reduced me onto my brain … even _he_ did that…"

"I can freely admit that I first used to think that you were just book-smart … but that was before we actually started to talk," the other woman smiled. "Actually, I think that Gildarts was the only one who ever bothered looking behind the reputation you had … he was also the one who beat the hell out of … Ivan … when he called you stupid and useless in grade five."

"Ivan comes up in many conversations I have lately. I brought him up with Gildarts, too."

"Did he finally ask about the old rumours?" Layla asked with a grin, having always wondered what would happen if Gildarts would finally have the nerve to ask that question.

"He … he implied the question."

"Don't be that difficult, Ur," the blonde complained. "What did you answer?"

"You really always need to hear the full story, huh?" Ur sighed. "I denied that I ever dated Ivan … and that's the truth. I never had any feelings of that kind for him."

"Uh-hu … but that was because you had feelings for Gildarts," the Astronomy teacher teased as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And you were never known for changing your opinions … so I guess that the reason why you turned down Metalicana's offer to be your date for the Yule Ball is the same as it was all those years ago."

"You make me sound … desperate, Layla," Ur stated drily. "And I outgrew that … that silly crush. I loved Bane, I really loved him. He was no second option after Gildarts started dating Cornelia. I liked her, too. I was really devastated when we … we found her dead."

"Doesn't mean you really stopped liking Gildarts," Layla smirked. "I am seeing this from a different point of view … I try to argue for this because there is no one healthier for you than him. Everyone else you ever dated – with the exception of Bane – constantly tried to belittle you, to sell you short. They all complained about the way you apparently have a terrible taste in fashion … that you are always too late and stuff like that. Gildarts never said such things. He called you pretty at more than one occasion, complimented your skills … and treated you like a _person_."

"We are **friends**. Friends say nice things about each other."

"I am his friend too and he never called me irresistible when employing magic."

"That was a joke … and he called you funny."

"But usually, he was harping on me for being boring because I always studied so hard. What's the worst he ever called you – other than he basically called you a traitor a few minutes ago? I guess it was moody … and that was even true in that context."

"He also called me out on being terrible at telling jokes and funny stories."

"You have a terrible memory – he also said that he liked the way you tell stories."

"What are you trying anyway, Layla? I told you years ago that I have no interest in him … he is a good friend … but there have to be limits for every bond. And I guess that you are trying to encourage me to overstep boundaries I put into place a long time ago," Ur sighed.

"You have grown really, really boring, Ur. A while ago, you would have accepted a challenge … but now, the only thing that interests you is your spells," the blonde shrugged. "I am not saying that you should knock him out and drag him to the altar. But you shouldn't leave out any chances of a romantic relationship of your considerations … because that would be really, really sad."

"If you are implying that I am scared, you are wrong," the raven-haired woman said with a shrug. "I am not scared … because … what could still scare me? I have too much respect, that's all."

* * *

Metalicana was walking the hallways late at night – the night before the other schools would arrive. He had spend the past day assisting Ur with the decorations of the Great Hall while Gildarts had been sulking in a corner like a child who had not been asked to play with his friends. The night had been a calm one – with the exception of catching Gajeel out of bed which would have been less surprising if his son had not left the Room of Requirements only mere minutes before Levy McGarden had appeared from the same room as well blushing and visibly nervous.

Since Slytherin's head of house had been young once as well, he had pretended not to see them as they hurried into their respective common rooms – though a wave of nostalgia had nearly swallowed him because remembering his youth meant to remember many bittersweet things.

Now, his tour through the castle was meeting its end but this did not mean that he could go to bed and get some sleep. No, this was impossible because his ex-wife leaned against the door that led into his room/office and whenever Grandine actually bothered to speak with him, it was important and would most likely concern their son.

"Does Dragneel know where ya are, Grandine?" he sighed as he unlocked the door.

"There is no reason why he has to know everything I do," she replied coolly as she sat down on the chair by the roaring fireplace. "Also, what the hell are you thinking right now? Slytherin and Gryffindor are always on each other's throats – even without two heads of house who act like first years!" she snapped as her reddish eyes started to gleam dangerously. "I know that you and Gildarts will never be best friends – but all I ask for is a tiny bit of maturity."

He raised his eyebrow in both amusement and surprise. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Her frustration was just as hilarious as he remembered it to be. She was glaring at him and her fist twitched – just like she seriously considered punching him instead of using a curse to make him shut up. "I talked with Layla," she started darkly, "and we were both wondering when you and Ur started to be the best of friends. As far as I can remember, it was Gildarts who was her best friend and not you … and … we heard rumours."

He snorted. "If you are jealous, just say so," he said gleefully. "And don't drag Heartfilia into this, Grandine. We both know that she would keep a secret – especially if it's not her own."

"You have to be a bastard about this as well, huh?" she asked, anger invading her voice. "Metalicana, why can you never think of other people as well?"

"I wasn't the one who left to be with Dragneel and left me with a confused kid who wanted to know what happened to his ma," the man replied, lifting his hands into a posture that was rather defensive. "I am not blaming you though, Marvell, but neither can you blame me for stirring up trouble between Milkovich and Lover Boy. That's not my battlefield and you know that."

"That didn't keep you from staging some jealousy drama," she snapped, eyes cold and unforgiving as she stared at him. "You keep interfering with lives you really, really should not mess with. You always have to be in control – otherwise, you would snap and go insane … if you haven't already … but who am I to judge you, Metalicana?"

"You aren't seriously accusing me of trying to get Lover Boy jealous, right?"

"You are trying something and if it isn't to make him jealous – then I really don't know what else you might be plotting in that crazy messy head of yours," she sighed.

He shook his head. "I am long done playing around," he said. "How have you been, anyway?"

She raised an eyebrow at the sudden change but chose not to comment. "I cannot apologise for anything," she said – not for the first time in all those years and not for the last time either. "I don't want to hear any of your attempts to take the blame … no words about how you took me for granted all along or something like that. That would only make things even sadder."

He rolled his eyes. "We are both sorry after all," he said with a little shrug. "And Wendy is a good kid … Gajeel likes his little sister a lot after all…"

"You still bitter," she said as she absentmindedly shrugged. "The same old bitter man … a man full of regrets and hatred for the world … but that wasn't always you … what happend?"

"Don't ask questions if you have no interest in hearing the answer," he said calmly. "And believe me, I have reasons not to talk about that time with anyone anymore."

"That means that there were people you talked to," she remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest while her eyes burned once more. "Clive and Milkovich, I'd guess. They are the only ones who went through the same kind of hell you faced all those years ago, Metalicana."

"Why am I cursed with such a smart ex-wife?" he sighed. "Yeah, you are right … of course."

She reached out and patted his hand, anger subsiding slowly. "I know what you went through," she said as she smiled a little bit. "The war did a number on everyone, including me. No one got out of that mess without at least a little change."

He rolled his eyes. "I never remembered you as an empathic woman," he stated drily.

"And neither did I remember you as a man who tries stealing his friend's source of happiness."

"From what Dreyar said, Lover Boy is too busy adoring his daughter … he probably didn't even notice that Ur is currently not so happy … even though even I noticed that."

"Ur is unhappy because her children argue – that got nothing to do with Gildarts," the woman stated drily. "Just be careful – Gildarts is dangerous when he's on the warpath."

* * *

Gildarts did not appreciate the way Metalicana was suddenly Ur's new best friend. He did not like the way the potions master suddenly lurked behind her wherever she went, the way the other man helped her with the preparations for the arrival of the other schools. It had been like that since the day of the argument in the sickbay, the argument she had cut short because there had been more pressing matters at hand. He had wondered where she was the next day because she had been discharged from the sickbay and had not been in the staff room.

Layla Heartfilia, Professor for Astronomy, had told him that the Charms teacher had locked herself into her room and when he had went there to apologise, she had ignored him. And from that day onwards, things had gone downhill.

The very moment Gildarts had allowed Ur to slip away, the moment when he had stopped being considerate for a moment, his old rival had swept in to help her with her recovery from the spells – like she was some sort of damsel in distress. But she was Ur. Ur had never been a damsel in distress because if there had been a problem, she had solved it without anyone's help.

The main problem he saw in the sudden friendship (and _hopefully_ not-romance) between Ur and Metalicana was the fact that his old rival had never been a good partner. While he had never cheated on Grandine, he had often disregarded her feelings and without truly meaning to, he had belittled her at times – and at one point, the proud witch had no longer been able to stand this and had left him for the kinder and calmer Igneel.

Speaking of the devil – Grandine was smirking at him … again, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. The silver-haired woman had often driven him up the wall with her know-it-all-attitude but today, he had other things to focus on – like the way Ur was nervously toying with her wand that was – just as usually – hidden in the right sleeve of her sapphire cloak.

He knew such things.

Metalicana did not.

And even though the other man was once more standing next to her with his arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders, Gildarts knew that she would rather have him standing there – if only because he knew her well enough to know that large groups of complete strangers made her uncomfortable which was a common consequence for a wizard who had fought in the war.

But with the arriving guests, he was stuck shaking hands and smiling while his eyes were trained on the Charms teacher who was chatting with some students of her house.

"You might want to smile, Clive," Layla remarked as she nudged his side. "Right now, you are leaving a very bad first impression. And that's something no one wants right now."

"Can you and Grandine off my case?" he sighed as he tried to smile a little friendlier.

"Now, where would be the fun in that?"


	7. in which bitterness is everywhere

**The Chapter in which bitterness is everywhere**

* * *

"We come from different places," Makarov started his speech after getting up after a rather uneventful dinner, "but we all share the dream of gaining honour for our respective schools – but we do not have come together to simply achieve glory and go home afterwards. No, the Tournament has also another, maybe a more noble purpose: the purpose of making new friends."

Up at the table, Layla Heartfilia sighed at the stubborn way Gildarts avoided any contact with Ur who had – before the meal had started – snatched away Layla's regular place to avoid sitting next to her oldest friend. The way the three other heads of house acted was very similar to the way children in kindergarten would act after an argument.

"We all make mistakes," the headmaster went on. "And to isolate ourselves during the terrible, terrible war that took so many precious people away from us was such a mistake. We were caught in between our belief that we could deal with everything by ourselves and the despair we felt when we learned that no, our light was not bright enough to get rid of the darkness."

Everywhere in the hall, those who had lost a relative during the gruesome war lowered their heads and those who had parents who had been part of the dark side – either forced or out of the firm belief that they had been right – looked down with shameful expressions on their faces.

"Now, years after the war that changed everything, we have to make a new beginning – and I can only pray that by the time the next crisis comes around, we will stand united – without any bias or prejudices separating our hearts," he continued. "Everyone knows the feeling of being left out of something – sometimes because it was intended to and sometimes because it simply happened. We all know doubt. We have all doubted someone before – it was surely often deserved and justified but just as often, we were wrong and distrusted the wrong people."

He took a deep breath and as he spoke again, his eyes rested on his grandson. "But whenever we are drowning in a doubt we cannot get rid off, we have to remember that we are here for a reason, that everyone has a purpose – and that's something we really should _always_ remember. We have to learn to listen to our hearts and maybe to our friends but not to people who are only out to cut us down with their harsh and cruel words."

Erza turned her head a little bit, just far enough to catch sight of Jellal who looked up the very moment and smiled faintly before he looked back at the headmaster. Her oldest friend sat next to his usual clique of Slytherins – the moderate ones, the ones who could just as well have been Gryffindors or Ravenclaws. Erza did not believe in the usual prejudices between the houses. To her, a Slytherin could be a hero too and a Hufflepuff could be a star just as well as everyone else.

She sometimes even envied the Slytherins because they had self-confidence and were a generally close-knit group – maybe not as close as the Hufflepuffs but generally closer than the Ravenclaws. Juvia Lockser, Cana Alberona and Flare Corona had the luxury of having friends who would go through hell with them because among each other, the Slytherins could be rather loyal.

In Gryffindor where so many strived for recognition, this spirit sometimes got lost because when everyone wanted to be a star, many forgot about the importance of supporting acts. The loyalty among the Slytherins had nothing on what the Hufflepuffs did but because the House of the Snake could still operate properly because importance of friendship or not, there was always a healthy rivalry among them, too, but they could forget about it easier than others.

She watched how Cana Alberona who had been released a few days back sat between Flare and Laxus who were both teasing her about something judging from the brunette's playful and maybe a little childish pout, then she turned her attention back at her own table.

She was happy to be in Gryffindor but she sometimes wondered whether she would not have been even happier if she had not had to part ways with Jellal, if they had ended up in the same house – just like Cana and Laxus who had never left each other's side in all those years.

* * *

"…the Tournament, huh?" Gajeel raised his eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder. "Spitfire, Rainwoman, 'Rona, is one of you going to enter that nonsense?"

"The money would interest me … but the possibility to suffer serious harm is a huge turn-off," Flare said, not even bothering to reprimand him because of the nickname because at one point, all of them had tried and all of them had failed. "How about you, Cana?"

"She isn't entering," Laxus said after looking at his friend. It was not unusual for him to try and forbid her doing the dangerous things so no one bat an eye at this sudden outburst. Usually, however, Cana would argue with him and claim that she was more than old enough to decide such things on her own – this time, she stayed silent and merely nodded.

"You ain't even trying, 'Rona?" Gajeel asked as his eyes widened slightly. "That money…"

"I just recovered," she said calmly as she shrugged a little. "And look, Laxus is right this time around. That curse … the injury was little but serious and I really wouldn't want to make my health suffer just because I want to gain some fame to rival Laxus'," she said with a teasing grin as she gently nudged her friend. "Anyway, I will cheer for Laxus – because you are taking part in the Tournament, aren't you?" she asked as she looked at him.

"Of course he is – at least, he will try to get in," Jellal shrugged. "He's the Boy Who Lived."

"Doesn't mean that I always jump into every challenge that opens up," the boy remarked drily.

"But you will still try, right?" Gajeel asked as he raised his eyebrow. "I mean – you have been taking care of 'Rona for like, hundred years … and when you leave school, you might no longer be able to make sure that she will be alright…"

"It's a rather common misconception that I am only capable of living with his instructions," Cana said drily but Juvia noticed the way the brunette took half a step into Laxus' direction to walk even closer to him to the point that their shoulders were nearly constantly connected.

"If you say so…" Flare said with a teasing smirk. "Anyway … you said nothing so far, Juvia…"

The blue-haired woman shook her head. "Because there is nothing to say," she said calmly. "Juvia will not participate. She will, however, cheer for Laxus or Gajeel if he chooses to enter."

"Oi, I will leave that to you, Sparky," Gajeel grinned, picking up Cana's old nickname for the blond boy. "I will rather do the same thing as 'Rona – help you with strategies and stuff like that … some training, too, I think. And I could try to steal some potions from my old man."

"I would rather keep any … criminal stuff out of this," Laxus said as he rolled his eyes. "Still, to have someone to fake-duel would be awesome, too. And since I'd never fight Cana seriously…"

"Which is the reason why I rather work with Flare when it comes to DADA," she said as she nudged him once more. "Anyway, Jellal, what about you?"

The blue-haired boy shook his head. "I'm with Juvia and Flare in this," he said smiling.

* * *

"…are you going to compete in that Tournament thing, Erza?"

The redhead flinched at the sudden question and turned her head. "No," she said after a moment. "That would be stupid of me. I have exams to prepare – and I really cannot afford to fail them."

"I bet Fernandes is going to try to get in," the black-haired boy went on with a grin.

"He isn't" she replied absentmindedly before she realised what she had just given away. "I overheard him talking with Dreyar and Alberona," she quickly said with a shrug to cover up the fact that she had fraternised with the enemy once again. "Dreyar will compete, however."

"The Boy who lived really gambles with his fame?" Mira asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"We all know that it's not exactly his own choice," Levy muttered as she sat down on her usual chair. "Anyway, I guess that you are going to try to get in, Gray, yes?"

"You can bet on it," the boy said. "But what's that about Dreyar having no choice?"

"I heard he had a big fight with Professor Clive and this fight triggered the estrangement between your mother and the professor," she replied. "If I were him, I'd feel guilty and would try to do something heroic to make up for that lapse of judgement."

"Mom and Clive _argued_?" Gray's eyes widened. "She didn't mention anything about that."

"But it's really obvious," Mira remarked drily. "Your mom never spent any time with Professor Redfox – and now, she traded seats with Professor Heartfilia at dinner to sit away from Professor Clive – and next to Professor Redfox … they also worked on the decoration together - something, she'd usually do with Professor Clive if the past few years are any indication."

"Wait – if the heads of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff suddenly are friends … does that mean that we have to be allies with Hufflepuff now?" someone asked. "Because after last year's quidditch debacle, I really don't want to have anything to do with them to be honest."

"Okay, guys, just to clear this up," Gray said as he rose. "After that extremely embarrassing fight that left my mom unconscious after I duelled Mira's sister, I came to a conclusion: if we keep this nonsense up, things will go to hell – soon. We don't want that. And neither do we want to be allies with Hufflepuff if Ravenclaw and Slytherin should be the new thing."

"Yes, I was happier when our head of house was not depressed and downright slytherin-cidal," Erza groaned as she sipped on her tea. "Look, I am not saying that we should matchmake, _Mira_, but … we might want to work on their relationship. I have no idea what Redfox did to set Professor Clive off like that but … it was something bad, I'd guess."

"Doing something bad would be plain unmanly."

"Elfman," Mira sighed as she shook her head. "Anyway, I noticed – and Justine agreed with me there – that Professor Redfox has been acting strange lately, too. So maybe … maybe this is just a case of old rivalry that got carried into our time somehow."

"Mom came with Redfox," Gray sounded strangely pained, "to the lake when Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived. I don't think that spells out old rivalry."

"Shit," Erza cursed. "Alright, maybe … we are really on a matchmaking mission. But I don't think that we will make much progress until the Yule Ball – there will be a ball during the Tournament, right? That's why we had to bring festive clothes and all that stuff, right?"

"Wait – if there is a ball, does that mean we have to find ourselves dates? That's manly," Elfman declared and thus pointed out a rather obvious point that would have missed completely by the rest of his house otherwise. "That will end badly."

And he had never been more right before.

* * *

_He did not want her sympathy – not now, not ever. It has his fault that they had arrived too late, his fault for drinking too much the day before, his fault for making the detour over a potion master to get a draught to cure his hangover instead of listening to her and hurrying to get back._

_But there she stood in the door, dark eyes full of compassion – compassion he did not deserve because he had brought this over himself. The witch still held her wand in a way that made him think that she would break it because she held it too firmly, so firm that her knuckles were dyed white. She trembled, eyes glossy with unshed tears – tears she would not shed in front of him._

_"We are too late," she whispered in a way that confused him because she sounded like she would virtually not understand how failure had happened to them. In a way, she had been spoiled by fate because things had always worked out for her and she had never encountered this kind of situation before._

_"Yes," he whispered and reached out, carefully leading her out of the room – away from his dead wife because they would both shatter if they stayed a second longer. He paid no attention to the whispering officials of the ministry, barely even saw Metalicana Redfox – an auror – talking with Makarov Dreyar who had just lost his daughter-in-law to his son's madness. "Ur, take me away from here," he said, feeling an unfamiliar weakness taking a hold on him. "Bring me to another place. Please, I cannot stand this."_

_He did not want to remember Cornelia the way he had just seen her. He did not want to remember her with empty eyes, eyes void of life and happiness. He wanted to remember the way she had been when she had been alive – full of laughter and light. Maybe it was selfishness and cowardice that made him hold onto Ur's arm even though he knew that she was breaking, too. He would not let go, not today. She had been at his side for all those years, fighting the dark side and never hesitating even a moment._

_He needed her now, too. Out of battle, she was a calm and nearly stoic friend – which made it hard to claim to know her in and out._

_"I cannot tell you a lie," she said as they left the house and the officials behind them and he collapsed onto the floor, leaving her towering above his broken form. "I can't tell you it will be okay again. This was…"_

_Ur did not use the Unforgivables. Never had and never would. She did not have to rely on them because there were other ways, ways that served the same purpose but worked differently – ways that did not take the other's free will. He was not sure if there was another mage who hated these spells as much as she did – and he remembered the day in fourth grade when they had become friends. She had been arguing with a teacher about why the Unforgivables were Unforgivable – and to their time, this had been rather unheard of students who asked questions like that. In truth, he had first believed her to be rather stupid for asking this kind of question._

_After the lesson, he had heard how someone else had teased her about it and because he had never liked bullies, he had stepped in and told the other girl off._

_They had been friends ever since. His optimistic naïveté and her quick mind had made a good team, keeping them from doing stupid things and sometimes, he wondered whether he would have ever considered becoming an auror if not for her and the petty crush he had on her once._

_"I wouldn't want you to tell me one either," he said as he ruffled his hair. "That would be unfair on you, Ur. Sorry … sorry for burdening you … again. You lost someone as well after all."_

_"There, there," she said as she took his arm. "I will take you home," she added before they both vanished with a booming noise._

* * *

The Goblet of Fire casted a soft blue light onto the walls of the Great Hall as the Slytherins arrived, dressed in their casual clothes. Flare Corona and Juvia Lockser walked at Gajeel Redfox' sides, calmly talking with him as Laxus Dreyar and Cana Alberona stared at the ground as if they were deeply ashamed of something but this was ridiculous because most people knew that they were far too popular and lucky to be ashamed of something.

"Look at them," Lyon Vastia sneered as he watched the group. "The Fabulous Slytherins have arrived to leave their scraps of parchment in the goblet."

"Don't be mean, Lyon," Lucy scolded as she stabbed her elbow into his side. "They have the same right of entering the competition as everyone else. Also … imagine Juvia-_chan_ as victor…"

"Only that she won't participate," Freed remarked drily. "Looks like the Fabulous Clique has decided on sending only Dreyar into the battle … which is an interesting strategy."

"It makes sense," Lucy shrugged. "They have all different strengths … and Dreyar is by far the most experienced among them. If they all work together, they can compliment his weaknesses."

"Alberona for example got the brain for tactical decisions – and she's good at organising stuff," Hibiki Lates agreed as he sat down with his fellow Ravenclaws. "Let's … just watch all of this."

A few metres in front of the goblet, Laxus patted Cana's shoulder and dragged her along as he threw his name into the goblet. "Okay, I may be the big bad seventh year but I might have to ask you for help with the organisation of the different things."

"The same way I planned your OWLs?" she asked with a frown. "Sure, consider me helpful."

"You are helpful," he said. "You have always been, Cana. You are the one who keeps me rational when I am going crazy over something. When I was afraid that I'd fail my Divination Exam…"

"I got Gajeel to help me with a Polyjuice Potion and knocked you out before I took the exam for you," she shrugged. "But don't remind me of that, yes?"

"Anyway, things are easier when we do it together," he said with a grin.

"Yes," she said and while they usually kept a certain distance from each other, she wrapped her hand around his wrist for a moment. "It will be lonely without you," she mused aloud.

"I will write you," he promised. "And I will get an apartment and you can come home over the holidays. I am not deserting you anytime soon, I swear."

At the Hufflepuff table, Bacchus Orland rolled his eyes as he observed the scene. A few years back, he had tried to pick a fight with the Slytherin girl – only to realise that whatever happened to her was instantly her protector's business and Laxus Dreyar usually did not waste time with talking when he had someone to avenge. "They are disgustingly cute," he sighed.

"Look at that, Bacchus," Lisanna Strauss said cheerfully as she sat down with her usual friends. "Professors Milkovich and Clive are talking with each other again."

Indeed, at the door that led into the Great Hall a rather interesting scene was taking place. Everyone had noticed that along the past few days, the heads of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had not been talking much with each other and this was a rather sudden change from their usual teasing and their serious conversation – and this had worried some of the students.

Now, Gildarts Clive approached Ur Milkovich in purposeful stride and lowered his head as he stood in front of her. "I am sorry for lashing out," he said calmly. "I am sorry for making your already bad day even worse, for blaming you for something I knew you did not do."

"And I apologise for ever letting you doubt me," she replied with a little smile. "Let's not turn this into a cliché, alright? We are both a little bit to mature for this … and we have both stuff to do."

He nodded seriously before he snatched her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "You were still looking sad," he explained before he winked at her. "See you in the conference, yeah," he said before he walked away, smugly grinning.

"My father is embarrassing," Cana groaned after looking back at Laxus.

"Be happy that it's not common knowledge yet," Laxus said with a smile. "Also … are you okay with it? With your father and Milkovich being … whatever they are?"

"I don't care," she replied, looking at Beauxbaton's blue-haired principal who had been avoiding Scorpio, the groundkeeper, like the plague ever since the other schools had arrived. "My father is old enough to make his own decisions … and if he loves her … mom has been dead for twelve years … I think that he can move on after all these years."

He nodded before he caught sight of the white-haired Beauxbaton girl who was fretting over her younger sister. "That girl … did you hear anything about her?" he asked calmly.

Cana raised her eyebrow. "Lucy Heartfilia voiced the suspicion that they might be part-veela," she said. "And when I mentioned her to Gajeel, he said that he heard somewhere that she has top grades and it likely to be the champion for her school," she added as they walked out of the hall. "I think you should be wary of her … I personally don't trust her much … though I trust that guy even less," she said as she sent a glare into the direction of Durmstrang's Rufus Lohr who was an international quidditch player and had thus already gained many admirers.

"You have become quite the worrywart, Cana," Laxus remarked drily.

"Maybe … but since you decided to join this tournament, I won't sleep well until it's all over."

"You are in for a stressful year in that case," he said. "If it gets too bad, Cana, I will ask Redfox for a sleeping draught. Please be careful … and don't ruin your health your ruin over me, will you?"

"I got it all under control," she said with a nod.

* * *

AN:

Ella Daniels: Usually, I do no longer answer reviews in chapters but since this an important review, I make an exception. First of all, thank you for taking the time to type up such a long review. That was really nice of you. The War is the First Wizarding War, the same war in which Harry's parents fought (and died). The stuff that happens is an alternate version in which the Fairy Tail characters take the place of Harry Potter characters.

The Tournament is the Triwizard Tournament that takes place in Harry's fourth year and even though the focus in the past chapters was a little on the teachers, it was supposed to be mainly about the students but it turned out that the parents and teachers have to be included in main roles as well. Layla is Lucy's mother and it will be explained what is with Jude.

Layla and Grandine were mothers during the Wizarding War - much like Molly Weasley - and thus had no interest in fighting. Metalicana was an auror as it was revealed in this chapter and Igneel's past will be explained at a later point (though I can tell you that he was no auror). The children were rather young and were with their mothers/parents - or in orphanages if their parents/families were among the dead.

And indeed, the lack of romance among the teachers always confused me. I mean, they hang out with each other all the time and yet, they never fall in love? I guess that this is never mentioned in the books because Harry is a biased narrator which is obvious in the general way how the Slytherins are described. I think that - if they are married - the spouses are either teachers themselves or extremely busy ministry officials. But still; dating would be difficult but I guess that teachers are not limited to special Hogsmade weekends to leave the castle.

I will explain the living situation of teachers with families a little later so keep reading~ and thanks again for the interest!


	8. in which secret conversations happen

**The Chapter in which secret conversations happen**

* * *

"You wanted to talk?"

Minerva Orland was an impatient sixth year who stayed rather distanced from everyone, even her housemates who had been supposed to be some sort of family for her. But then again, Minerva was no friend of family in any shape or form – because her own was completely screwed up. Her father had been a high-ranking death eater who had been killed by an auror – most likely one of the former aurors who now taught in Hogwarts which made it sometimes a little awkward to go to classes – and her brother was no one she wanted to be seen talking with as she disliked his light-hearted and always easy-going attitude greatly.

"Aah, Little Minerva, don't be so cold-hearted," Bacchus grinned as he leaned against the wall.

"If this is not extremely important, I will leave now," she snapped at him.

"You are really, really bitter," he said with a sigh before he reached out to pat her shoulder. "Look, I know that it's not easy for you to be in the same House as Corona – because we both know that **he** is the reason why the biggest part of her family is gone. Anyway, you don't have to distance yourself from them just because of the shit **he** did."

"Professor Redfox might have been the one to kill Father," she said drily. "How can you not care about that at all? How can you laugh and smile like it doesn't concern you?"

"Because I don't think that either I or you have to feel guilty," he said with a shrug. "Look, Mini, you are my sister. I love you. I want to see you happy. I want to see you sitting at the table with friends … because you are not guilty for all those crimes. There is a ball coming up – the Yule Ball…" he shrugged. "I want to see you with a date at that day, dancing and singing."

"I don't sing and I don't dance."

"You used to," he replied darkly. "Look, Mini, just … just imagine that all of this is simply a stage and you are the star of the show. If it helps you to be less bitter, imagine an orchestra playing every time you enter a room. Promise me to try at least to be a little happier."

"That's the important thing you wanted to tell me – the reason why I didn't go to bed early?" she snapped at him. "And no, I won't start making friends with those losers. Alberona and Dreyar keep talking about sin and sacrifice – about how they want to be aurors one day to make up for the fate of their mothers, to keep other children from becoming orphans as well. That's pathetic."

"Cana Alberona and Laxus Dreyar have a goal – something you lack entirely, Mini," her brother stated as he ruffled her hair. "Try to look at it from my point of view, yes? You are young, hell, we both are. And we deserve to be happy, Mini. Anyway, I need to get back … I have to throw my name into the goblet … maybe I'll get killed and you will get rid of me."

* * *

It was two in the morning of the day that would decide the program of the entire day as Juvia Lockser sneaked into the library. Her hair was bound into a bun and she already wore her uniform with a winter cloak as it was rather cold this late at night. She avoided the Forbidden Department as she had heard of screaming books from Gajeel and she had no interest in getting caught by a teacher because this would get not only her but also her house in trouble.

She had done this before – when she had studied for exams – and she had made the experience that wearing the uniform instead of a nightgown was a rather smart move as she so could claim that she had fallen asleep while she had studied and would not get in big trouble if she would be caught.

She exhaled as she grabbed the book she had been looking for from the shelf.

The reason why she had sneaked out of the dorm after making sure that Cana and Flare would not notice anything was that she was extremely worried. She was worried for Cana because she had not forgotten about the cursed blanket and she was worried for Laxus because if he would be champion, he might get hurt. Juvia cared for her friends and she wanted to see them safe.

"Who's there?!" a strict voice asked and she felt how her blood became ice as a shadow rose from a chair – a shadow carrying a wand. Juvia was a seeker and so she reacted instantly – before her mind had completely processed the fact that there was someone else, she had disarmed the other one, catching the wand with the hand not holding her own wand or the book.

_"Lumos,"_ she whispered and revealed the identity of the other witch – only to feel how her heart missed a beat because this was the head girl, Erza Scarlet. "Juvia is sorry!" she quickly exclaimed.

"Not so loud!" Erza snapped as she held out her hand. "We will get caught!"

"Why are you out this late?" the blue-haired girl asked as she handed back the wand. "The curfew … a head girl should not been out after the curfew, you know?"

"You shouldn't be out either," the redhead said as she bound her hair into a high ponytail. "Look, I have a lot to think about so I went for a walk. If you don't tell on me, I won't tell on you … and I won't take any points from you either. Sit down, read your book … oh, and how's Jellal?"

"Are you his girlfriend?" Juvia asked bluntly because this was a question that had been on her mind for e while. "And what's on Erza's mind that doesn't let her sleep?"

"I am not his girlfriend!" she said with a blush. "And, well, I have been studying the history of the Tournament … if Dreyar really gets in, he will have to go through hell and back."

"If it's for Cana, he will do it all with a smile," Juvia said. "So, you didn't enter?"

"It has to be nice if someone loves you like that…" Erza sighed. "You and Cana, you are the luckiest girls in this castle, do you even know that? She has Laxus who would do everything for her and I guess that Redfox junior would do a lot for you as well, Juvia."

"Oh, Gajeel isn't Juvia's boyfriend!" she said as she shook her head. "He likes someone else and Juvia has promised to keep this promise … and Juvia doesn't think that Laxus and Cana are dating … at least not yet. They are a lot like you and Jellal."

"Juvia … can I talk with you?" Erza asked, tired of keeping everything to herself and she could not speak with Jellal about Jellal-related problems and she could not ask Mira because Mira would never understand it – because Mira had enough problems of her own.

"Of course. Juvia listens. Juvia is good at listening, Gajeel says."

"It's … everyone seems to expect of me that I will ask Gray, Gray Fullbuster to be my date for the Yule Ball … but really, I don't want to and just because he is my oldest friend in Gryffindor, I really should not feel obligated to ask him, should I?" Erza asked. "I don't love him … he is nice and everything but he carries a big enough burden already and I would only be another burden on his shoulders … and he is too often cold and distanced – especially lately."

"Juvia cannot tell you what to do," the Slytherin girl said. "But … you have to know … that Juvia likes Gray … a lot actually … but Juvia would be … happy to see him happy."

"If I could ask him, I would ask Jellal," Erza said, rubbing her eyes. "But that wouldn't end well. I'd be instantly accused of fraternising with the enemy … and that would be a rather sad end."

"Many in this castle are fast to judge – especially when they have no right to say anything," Juvia remarked. "But Juv- I can assure you that Levy McGarden would understand your decision."

"I hate those hypocrites," Erza muttered. "They have truly no right to judge and yet they do. Is it my fault that I happen to like someone who was sorted into Slytherin? Not all Slytherins are evil. Professor Redfox was an auror before he became a teacher – he chased down the Death Eater who killed my parents. You don't seem mean or evil as well…"

"I jinxed Natsu Dragneel after he pushed Gajeel off his broom during practise," Juvia said, slowly growing a little more comfortable around the fiery red-haired girl. "But no, we aren't all evil … and some of us actually chose Slytherin over another house … I could have been in another house, too. But I didn't want to part ways with Gajeel and I knew that he'd be in Slytherin."

"You stopped referring to yourself in third person," Erza said as she raised her eyebrow.

"I only call myself Juvia now when I feel uncomfortable," she explained. "When I am comfortable or very angry, it's no problem for me to refer to myself in first person. I hope that I will completely drop this habit by the time I leave this school. I want to become an auror and who would ever take me seriously if I'd call myself Juvia all the time?" she asked with a shrug.

"True," Erza agreed as she nodded. "But … if I may ask, why are you up this late at night?"

"I am doing some research as well," she said. "I'm curious about the headmaster of Beauxbaton … she reminds me of someone I used to know a long time ago."

* * *

Layla Heartfilia was on the warpath once more. Usually, she was a woman who valued harmony and peace but lately, her nerves had suffered greatly. First – there had been the declaration that there would be a limit of sixteen years for the witches and wizards who aimed to become champion of their respective school – and her daughter, Lucy, was sixteen. Then, her best friend Ur had been caught up in an argument with Gildarts and they had never argued like this before.

And now, she had reached the point that was really a little too much for her: she had recognised the names of Durmstrang's headmaster and deputy headmistress – and the names Zoldeo and Karen Lilica were names she had hoped to never hear again.

She furiously unpacked her mirror, the mirror she had used since the years when she had been a student herself and instead of grooming herself, she stared into the item and clearly spoke a short name: "Jude."

Instantly, the reflection blurred and then, it changed into the face of her husband who looked a little tired but still awake enough to give her the answers she wanted to hear. _"Layla,"_ he stated. _"Do you have any idea of how late it is where I am?"_

"You never talk about where you are so no, I have no idea," she said as she leaned back in her chair. "I wanted to know whether you were aware that you permitted Karen Lilica and Zoldeo entry to the country. They are Death Eaters!"

_"That was never proven and you know that."_

"Ur and Gildarts both were witnesses in court when their case was up and they said that the only reason to why they are not in Azkaban is that they rat out their old comrades," she said. "The thing is: I don't want them here. I don't want them around Lucy and the other kids."

_"They are respected in Bulgaria – so what do you want from me?"_ he asked. _"I know your stance but there was nothing I could do. I even tried to get the minister to grab the chance and arrest them again but … really, they have been pardoned and even in our messed-up system, you cannot drag someone in front of the court for the same crime twice without new proof."_

"What if I'd break my silence? What if I'd get the skeletons out of the closet?"

She felt like someone was watching her as she sat in her room, at her desk but at the start of the year, she had asked Ur and Gildarts to freshen up the charms that were supposed to keep strangers with ill intent out of her chamber and so, it was impossible. She was getting paranoid and she knew it. She looked up from the mirror and marvelled at the beauty of the scattered moonlight on the ink black lake. For some reason, it was the same sight which she had had years ago from the window of her old dorm – a never-changing scenery which had been composed to calm her even after everything that had happened.

_"You can do that … but I cannot guarantee that it would really get them to Azkaban,"_ he replied after a long moment of silence. _"Look, the aurors Milkovich and Clive swore that it was Lilica's curse that nearly tore off Milkovich's leg – but even that was not enough."_

"I could tell the judges how Zoldeo casted the Imperius curse onto me," she said, feeling how the old panic dwelled up inside of her again. It was like she was back there once more, feeling numbed and yet strangely happy because of the little voice that had tried to manipulate her – the voice that had ordered her to kill, to torture, to harm. But the terrible thing about it was that while the curse had been on her, she had wanted it. She had wanted to kill her husband, her family. Her mind had seen it as the right and most logical reaction to the flowers he had given her. It had been an eternally peaceful moment – but looking back, she had understood Ur's strict declination of ever using Unforgivables. Ur was right. The freedom of mind, of will was the most important thing – something that could never be stripped off a human being because the consequences would be terrible.

The only reason why she had accepted Headmaster Makarov's offer to become a teacher, to leave the manor and the memories behind for a long time each year was that Hogwarts was the safest place on the planet – and nothing like the tightly secured manor where she had no longer been able to breathe without tasting the bitterness and the humiliation of defeat on her tongue. Ur and Gildarts had returned the same year she had, both equally broken under the terrors of war. Hogwarts had been a place where the harmed ones, the ones who had not survived the war as luckily as others had had nno reason to pray of their safety anymore because they had been safe and where no one had asked.

She had known that something had happened when Ur and Gildarts had moved in next door to her in Hogsmade where they had lived with their children before the youngest – Gray and Lucy – had been old enough to start in Hogwarts. She had known before she had seen Ur's slight limp on a bad day, before she had witnessed one of Gildarts' silent breakdowns.

_"You can surely tell that … but are you sure that you want Lucy to know?"_ Jude asked, his voice soft and tender. _"She believes that she grew up in Hogsmade because it was close to were you work – and she doesn't have to know that you work there because it is the only place were you feel completely and utterly safe. She does not have to know everything, does she?"_

"You are right … but I will stay on my guard."

_"That's something I wanted to ask you for, Layla. Stay out of harm's line. You have three former aurors around – if something happens, leave it to them … Defence Against the Dark Arts was never your forte anyway, was it?"_

"It wasn't."


	9. in which the Goblet reveals the names

**The Chapter in which the Goblet reveals the names**

* * *

Gajeel was usually a rather calm if not even uninterested wizard, much like his father. He excelled at potions – the subject that requires maybe more patience than any other – and so he rarely showed many emotions. (This was Juvia's field of expertise, anyway.) But right now, he felt how his emotions were acting up a little.

It was one of these typical once-in-a-lifetime-events when even the calmest felt nervous. He knew that he was not the only one because Fernandes seemed to be a nervous wreck as well and the usually rather icy Charms professor was drumming rhythms onto the table and both his parents seemed to be a little less calm and collected as usual too.

At his side, Juvia was talking with Flare 'Spitfire' Corona – something about how important this moment would be one day if they looked back and told their children and grandchildren the amazing story of how awesome and great their old stories were. He sighed. Juvia was on her best way to have a breakdown but then again, she was not the only one. Cana had skipped breakfast to finish her History essay, had not been there for lunch for some strange reason and she had not touched her food yet either. If Gajeel would be able to show empathy, he would pat her shoulder to cheer her up a little because the poor girl was pale as a ghost and her hands trembled.

Talking of ghosts. As Gajeel looked up, he saw that every ghost with the exception of the poltergeist who was banned from the Great Hall had arrived and drifted over the eating (or not-eating) students and guests. He nodded at Slytherin's house ghost the Dark Mage who drifted next to Gryffindor's bubbly and talkative Fairy Tactician with a suffering expression on his pearly face.

"Cana," Laxus said as he pushed a plate full of her favourite food into her direction. "Eat."

"I am not hung- eep!" she interrupted herself as he simply grabbed a piece of bread and threw it into her opened mouth. Coughing and cursing, she somehow managed not to choke on it and she chewed carefully before she shot him an annoyed glare. "Laxus, please," she sighed.

"Eat or I will keep feeding you," he warned with a rare smile on his face.

To Gajeel, the blond seemed a little too calm but then again, Laxus had once – on a dare - participated in a muggle dancing competition and so maybe, this had calmed him down considerably. Neither Evergreen nor Cana was equally calm, anyway. Cana who had been nicknamed queen a year or two ago when they had been to Hogwarts and gotten drunk which had led to a lot of very strange titles was maybe eating by now but she was still pale and shaking while Evergreen was biting her nails in dreadful anticipation.

"It seems to start now," Ultear pointed out as the flames of the goblet became blue. Around her, a few students of Slytherin and more of the other houses who heard her nonetheless started to cheer even though Gajeel could not understand it. No matter who would be chose, he or she was in for a trip to hell and back. To him, this was nothing to be proud of. Yes, the prize money might convince even a coward to try his luck but he had not felt tempted but nearly disgusted by those who allowed their greed to override their common sense.

The only reason why he supported Laxus' decision to try entering the Tournament was that Laxus was not doing it to strengthen his fame – and this would be difficult because it was harder to be more famous than the Boy Who Lived – but because he wanted to move out of his grandfather's house in Hogsmade and into his own apartment in London – together with Cana. (The part about Cana had never come up in a conversation but for Gajeel who had been in the same grade as Laxus since the first year, the unsaid part had been obvious anyway. Wherever Laxus went, if he had the choice to bring her along, he would bring Cana who was his oldest and closest friend.)

"You are right, Ultear," Cana said as she dropped her spoon for a moment, eyes shining with interested and hope – hope either for or against Laxus' participation in the Tournament.

Makarov rose from his chair before he clapped twice which instantly brought any conversation in the Great Hall to a sudden stop. "Very well," he said calmly. "The moment of truth … very soon, the Goblet of Fire will reveal the names of those who will fight for the fame, the glory and the honour of their schools – and a huge amount of money."

Gajeel scanned the crowd once more, noticing the white-haired Beauxbaton girl that might be part-Veela sitting next to Levy. He ignored her which was rather easy to him and nodded at the blue-haired girl who was also biting her nails because she was just as tensed as most people.

The goblet let out a sapphire flame and within the flame, a scrap of parchment drifted through the air. The headmaster easily caught it and unfolded it. One, two heartbeats passed in complete silence before the man rose his head. "The champion for Durmstrang is," he begun, "Rufus Lohr."

The cheering of the crowd was deafening – something Gajeel did not quite understand. So what if Lohr was a famous qudditch player and a brilliant seeker? He had seen him during the finale of the Championship and no matter how much everyone praised him, compared to Juvia, he was a loser – but maybe, this was a best friend's bias speaking.

"That was no surprise," Cana muttered into Laxus' direction who nodded. Gajeel frowned. He – and everyone else hated it – when Cana and Laxus had secrets, when they talked about things no one else knew about because this had rarely ended well in the past years.

"Yeah," Laxus nodded as he carefully patted Cana's wrist. "Relax."

"I would if I could," she replied but a faint smile crossed her face.

"You are too serious," he said but he was smiling as well.

"That's called maturity," she replied with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Another flame, this time a slightly more greenish one, sent a piece of parchment twirling through the air. "The Champion of Beauxbaton is Sorano Aguria," Makarov declared and for a second, his eyes roamed over the crowd before they rested on his grandson who smiled apologetic at him.

At the Gryffindor table, the white-haired girl rose, threw her long hair over one shoulder as she danced over to the table where the teachers sat before she disappeared the same way Rufus Lohr had left before – only that the cheering was less this time because many boys had been stunned into awed silence which pleased Gajeel (and especially his ears) greatly.

By now, it became obvious that Cana had given up any attempt on eating and Laxus had stopped any attempt on making her eat as it had just become utterly pointless. Gajeel looked at his friend who had just the same face he had had five years ago when Cana had been sorted – this mixture of worry, hope and anticipation.

Finally, the last flame left the goblet and Gajeel marvelled at the slight greyish hue of it for a moment and for the first time, it was completely silent. This was easily explained. The Hogwarts-group was still the largest in the Great Hall and while their champion was declared, even the worst pranksters managed to be silent for a moment. Gajeel's gaze found Jellal's for a second and he wondered about the other Slytherin's worried expression before he made the mental note to ask later and looked to the table where the headmaster had just unfolded the scrap of paper.

For a moment, Gajeel swore that he heard Cana's heart pounding because the girl looked like she was about to faint, Evergreen's nails had reached the point where only a professional manicure would be able to save them and restore their former health and over at the Gryffindor table, Erza Scarlet was not staring at the headmaster like everyone else but at Jellal – which had to mean something or so Gajeel assumed. (This was the second thing he would ask Jellal about later on.)

"The Champion of Hogwarts is," and at his point, Makarov already gave it nearly away because he looked nearly depressed, "Laxus Dreyar."

The Slytherin table would forever deny that the next moments ever took place. They had a reputation to lose after all but it did happen. Juvia squeaked before she and Flare drew their wands and made confetti rain down on Laxus – and by extension – everyone in a radius of six metres. Jellal grabbed Juvia and twirled her around in an attempt to voice his joy that it was indeed his friend who had become champion of their school. Cana got up to shake the confetti out of her hair the same moment Laxus rose and after bumping their heads, he grinned – a rare, sincere grin – and hugged her before he once twirled her around as well.

Looking back, it was a party at the table, a party that lasted full five minutes in which a few students of other houses joined in and amidst the chaos, Laxus said something to Cana – something no one else could hear over the noise and then he walked away, head held high.

"You are never happy, Flare," Lucy Heartfilia remarked as she, too, combed the confetti out of her hair. "What makes this event so special?"

"If Laxus wins, Slytherin gains fame for something but quidditch or having dark mages," the redhead explained with a shrug. "Today might be the start of a new age later on."

* * *

"It took you _trés_ long to get 'ere," the white-haired girl – Sorano something – remarked with a sneer. "Do not tell _nous_ that you 'ad to say _au revoir_ to your _petite amie_."

"My friends did not let me leave," Laxus replied as he pinched his nose. It was a rather common misconception that Cana was his girlfriend because of the time they spent together on regular basis but slowly, it was starting to get on his nerves because he was rather sick of having to explain that she was not his girlfriend but his oldest and best friend – especially since the term girlfriend often seemed to be used in a belittling way and Cana was a good deal more than the word girlfriend implied. She was – if Laxus would have to express it somehow – his partner … and everyone could guess for himself or herself in which way he meant this.

"I think … I think I saw you."

Laxus turned his head. "We were at the finale," he stated. "My grandfather got us VIP tickets because of his good relations to the ministry. Anyway, when is this going to start?"

"An excellent question, Mr Dreyar," a man with reddish brown hair said. "My name is Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, men. I work at the ministry, in the Department for International Relations to be exact. This is my assistant, Ren Akatsuki. And over there, Miss Jenny Realight – the former seeker of the Holyhead Harpies. She is now in charge of the Department for Magical Games and thus helped us all to organise this amazing Tournament."

"Realight," Lohr growled as he nodded at her.

"My, you haven't changed much," she said with a flirty grin before she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "It has been too long since we have met, am I right? It will be fun to watch you again." She then looked around before her eyes rested on Laxus. "Aah, Mr Dreyar, yes, I remember. You were at the finals, too, with that pretty brunette – your girlfriend, maybe?"

"She is my partner," the blonde replied, feeling a little annoyed. He remembered the feeling of being belittled and he hated it. Cana was not his girlfriend, damn it. She was his best friend, partner-in-crime – and the only one he had a photo of which he carried in his wallet. He knew that he was no favourite in this game. He was 'just' the Boy Who Lived and no famous seeker or a model (he did remember where he had seen her before – on the cover of one of Cana's fashion magazines). But he had waited for a chance to prove that he was more than what everyone expected him to be.

"Oh? So the King of Slytherin does have a queen already?" the woman grinned as she patted his shoulder. "I can understand you completely, honey, she is very pretty … and rather calm, right?"

"I don't talk about personal things," Laxus said darkly. "And especially, not about Cana, okay?"

"With that attitude, you'll give Jason a headache," she said with a wink. He slowly started to wonder whether she had trouble with her eyes. "Anyway, Vandalay, how about you tell them-"

She interrupted herself as the headmasters appeared and sent a dazzling smile into the direction of Makarov. "Professor Dreyar, it has been too long since I saw you. How have you been doing?"

"Rather well without you crashing into my office with your broom," he replied drily. "Anyway, how about you give them the details about the first task and send them back to their friends?"

"Ah yes, the first task," Vandalay nodded. "In the first task, you will have to prove courage, speed and reflexes. That is all. I won't go into detail right now. Train hard and study harder, men."

"You heard it," Jenny said with a grin. "Have fun figuring things out. We will see you on the Sunday in three weeks. Up to this point, you can try to figure things out."

* * *

AN:

This is the first time of my using a character who speaks a language different of the language most of the cast speak and I really hope that I did not overdo the French of Sorano/Angel. I also did not put the translations right into the text because it bothers me personally when someone does this as it disturbs the flow and the words should be easy to guess from the context. Still, here are the translations from the French words:

très = very; nous = we but here: us; au revoir = goodbye, see you later; petite amie = girlfriend.


End file.
